


Sleepless

by Joanie_Boanie



Category: Peaky Blinders (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-27
Updated: 2019-06-27
Packaged: 2020-05-20 14:05:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19378231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joanie_Boanie/pseuds/Joanie_Boanie
Summary: Esther receives a visit and reflects on the past.





	Sleepless

Esther was roused from sleep when she when she felt someone kicked the post of her bed and curse a number of profanities that would make prostitute blush. She was quick to pull out the pistol from under her pillow and sit up. She cocked the hammer back “Who are you?” She demanded.  
“Fuck, it’s me Esther.” A man’s voice said while still crouched over holding the foot he had just injured.  
Esther let her head lull back in relief and exasperatedly shouted “Jesus Christ, Tommy. What the hell are you doing? How did you even get in here? I locked the door.”  
He gave her a look. “I know how to jimmy a lock Esther.”  
Esther rolled her eyes “Well, who said you could jimmy my lock Tom? You scared me half to death.  
Tommy gave half of a laugh “Me and the Peaky fucking Blinders.”  
“Well, one of these days Thomas Shelby of the Peaky fucking Blinders is gonna get shot by Esther fucking Rollands then the Blinders would be no more.” She said dramatically.  
Nonchalantly “You’d never shoot me, Esther.”  
“You don’t know that, I’m blind as a bat Tommy if I hadn’t asked any questions and just shot you outright, you’d be dead.” Bluntly.  
He didn’t say anything  
She sighed “What do you want tommy?”  
“Can’t sleep.” Was all he said.  
Esther looked at him she didn’t have to ask why he couldn’t sleep and she didn’t have to ask why he’d come all the way to her house to let her in on his not so secret secret. The war was hard on him and he wasn’t able to let it go hell, no one’s been able to let it go. He was lucky it was only sleep he’s lost some men lost legs, arms, and even worst still their minds.  
“Uhg!” she said as she threw back to the covers giving the signal to get in. Even in the dark she could tell he was relieved that she didn’t tell him to piss off and get out of her house. He took off his other boot and his jacket then climbed in pulling the covers over himself. Esther was still siting up and looked down at him for a moment. He opened his mouth to say something but before he could she gripped his nose between her pointer and middle finger and gave it a shake.  
“Next time knock or better yet call me if you want to stay over or else I’ll have to spend a fortune on locks you can’t jimmy.” She said, then releasing his nose but continued to appraise him with help from the gas lamp outside her window she could see the blueness of eyes and then the bags under the orbs. He wasn’t lying about not being able to sleep she thought.  
He stared back for a long while “Tommy, I’m waiting for a reply.” She said bluntly.  
His eye widened in understanding and replied simply with an “Alright.”  
Esther rolled her eyes and slipped back into bed turning to face away from him and towards the window. They were both still for a longtime allowing Esther to finally close her eyes feeling sleep just around the corner that it is before she was startled once again when Tommy wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her tight to his chest. She couldn’t help but snicker a little bit he hasn’t changed much from the war she thought. He would always do this wait until he thought you were asleep to pull you in close and it never ceased to be amusing. Why couldn’t he just ask? She supposed it must not be in his nature to ask for simple comforts.  
They had met in 1916 when Esther was eighteen years old. The Americans had just joined the fight sending their men to the front lines and Esther was one of those ‘men’. She had hidden her gender and joined up. She by passed the medical inspection by sending a man with similar height, weight, and skin type she of course passed with flying colors. In fact, no one suspected anything or maybe they didn’t have the time to really notice the soldiers who crossed paths with Esther or Ernest as she was known then would always remarks on how much she looked like a little boy or how pretty she was but it was always said jokingly. It wasn’t until she met Tommy in the trenches that she was found out. She and a few of her unit buddies were passing by him and his when he stopped and grabbed her by the arm hindering her from moving on and stared her down. Esther remembered yanking her arm out of his grip and one of her unit mates asking if he had a problem but he just kept moving.  
“What a freak.” Said Fitz a friend from her unit.  
“The Tori’s have been out here for too long.” She said.  
“He must’ve seen a ghost.” another friend replied.  
“Must of.” She grumbled as continued her journey through the trench.  
It wasn’t until later that night as she sat under an abandoned shoddily built shelter from the rain that they met again. She was eating an MRE of the time trying to mind her own business when he seemingly appeared out of nowhere and stood in front of her arms crossed.  
“What are you doing here?” he said more of a demand than a question.  
She put down her meal and looked at him. “Fighting the Germans?” she said confused.  
“Don’t play dumb with me. I know you’re a woman.” His tone irritated “You shouldn’t be here this is no place for a woman.”  
Esther tried to play cool and let her eyes roll in the back of her head. “Listen pal, you’re not the first to think I look like a girl. They said it in PT and they said it when we first got to France but I can assure you I am a man.”  
He let out a spiteful laugh “Listen here lass I think in my twenty-six years of life I have known enough women to be able to tell the difference between a man and a woman. Go to your superior officer and go home.”  
Esther began to get nervous. “No, you listen, I passed my medical and PT surrounded by men do you really think that if I was a woman I would’ve been able to make it this far.”  
At first Esther thought she had gotten through to him when he made a relenting face but then something changed, a twinkle behind those sky-blue eyes. “Then prove it.” He said with a smirk.  
“What?” she said disbelievingly.  
“Pull down your trousers and fucking prove it.”  
With indignance she squawked “I will do no such thing!”  
“Either you do it or I’ll do it for you.” He threatened.  
Esther narrowed her eyes at this nosy Tori and he returned her gaze. They both stayed this way for a long time daring each other to make a move. It was Tommy who first acted on the nonverbal dare lunging at Esther surely to make an attempt to hold her down but unbeknownst to Tommy she was much faster than him and was able to throw herself to the side of him but she lost her footing slipping on the slick earth shooting herself affectively into the mud.  
“Uhg!” she shouted trying to right herself but was forwarded as Tommy grabbed her legs and dragged back into the makeshift shelter. He pinned her legs between his thighs then his hands went for the buttons of her wool trousers. But before he could get anywhere with them, she reached one hand up and yanked his head back then used her free arm to give a heavy blow to the face as he fell onto his back, she threw herself up and sat on Tommy’s chest. When he tried to get back up she pushed him down again and pulled the knife from her belt and held it up close to his neck.  
“Now.”’ She started. “Are you going to calm down or am I going to have to kill you?”  
He said nothing just breathed heavily.  
“Alright! I am a woman and I’m going to remain here on this battle field do you understand me? I already survived one battle and I reckon I can survive this one too so I don’t give a damn if you got a problem with it.”  
“it’s not about whether you can survive. What about you infantry mates? What if they need to be carried or- “he was cut off.  
“Don’t give me any bullshit about my strength I threw you on your ass and kept you down. I could kill you right now.  
He was silent once again and it made Esther to make a face that said “What, no smartass retort?” But still he remained silent. Knife still pressed to his throat she asked a more relevant question. “Are we going to have a problem?”  
He smirked. “No… You’re right if you want to die on this battle field then it’s your business.”


End file.
